“How will the Trump team top his seeming assertion that we could’ve avoided the Civil War if we’d just been willing to negotiate whether or not slavery was actually OK?” we all wondered today, and the answer has been delivered in short order. While poorly fending off accusations of racism, sexism, and xenophobia, the best thing to do is probably not to cancel Michelle Obama’s “Let Girls Learn” education program for girls in developing countries.
But here we are. Really, the Trump team has never worried about doing things to dispel the worst things said about them, so this seems about like their next logical step. If there’s any silver lining to be had, it’s that parts of the initiative will reportedly continue, though there will no longer be a unifying programmatic “brand” of Let Girls Learn. A Peace Corps spokesperson said, “The Peace Corps continues to prioritize girls’ education and empowerment programming. Girls’ education and empowerment has been a hallmark of our work over the past 56 years and we look forward to continuing those efforts with our interagency partners. We remain dedicated to the passionate work of our volunteers and staff to empower and educate girls in their communities.”
What this will ultimately, functionally mean for the Peace Corps’ efforts in that regard is unclear, but what’s very clear is the symbolic blow of dropping the pro-girl branding. When the best case scenario is that it’s just a petty way to stick it to the Obamas (if nothing much changes outside of the name) and the worst case is cutting back on helping girls around the world lead better lives, what there is to gain from the decision is pretty hard to understand—unless you’re a petty baby-man who wants to piss all over anything the Obamas did, consequences be damned, or you’re a sexist jackass. You could also be both, but it’s hard to see how you could be neither and still think this was worth doing.
He did comment, just today, that his relationship with President Obama had soured over his nonsense perception of inappropriate surveillance. Then, he walked away from the reporter when pressed to explain himself and stand by his own words—you know, if you had any doubts about his dislike for the Obamas or his childlike petulance. It’s all still on full display:
(via CNN, image: Lorraine_MÂ /Â Shutterstock.com)
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